5. We have a secret ship (The Enterprise) to be piloted by Captain Video

6. It's a total farce

We have so many problems down here on Planet Earth (note: I'm not saying that space exploration isn't important or that I'm being a luddite) that need to be resolved, not the least of which is helping citizens recover from a natural disaster (Puerto Rico), reuniting immigrant children with their parents, and, of course, securing our elections, before we start talking about building a "Space Force".

Besides, nobody (and certainly not us) "own" outer space, so we really ought to focus on joint international efforts to colonize space, though I know that Dolt 45 doesn't believe in engaging in any kind of meaningful international relations unless you're an autocratic dictator.

17. SpaceX should be flying people next year.

18. Yes, and?

It's a private operation, not a part of the military. It seems to be doing pretty well, so far, at launching payloads. We'll see how it does with people. But, their operation is a transport thing, not really designed for long stays in space. I don't see it as useful to the military, except for launching orbital payloads.

19. I'm not paying much attention to the "Space Force" thing.

It's entirely an administrative move, mostly spy satellites and other military stuff that has been in limbo and managed by several administrations through complex rules, any PR coming from this administration over it is bluster. It's not an actual "thing."

20. Yes. We already have military involvement in space.

There's no need for a separate "force." It's a distraction Trump is using to try to take people's minds off Trump. It won't work. As a comedy bit, though, the US Space Force is great fodder for the late night jokesters.

21. The military's space budget dwarfed NASA's for a time.

We were sending up a spy satellite every couple of weeks after 9/11. At the time though the military was responsible for the payloads and NASA was responsible for the launching. All this "Space Force" thing is doing is putting the onus on another administration to do all the details. It's purely administrative and in fact most of the same people that did it before will be doing it now, they'll just be changing offices.

30. NASA does not operate launch vehicles anymore.

...and NASA was responsible for the launching...

This hasn't really been true since the mid '80s, when NASA did have a monopoly with the Shuttle. This was a stupid decision even before Challenger, but that accident made the stupidity obvious even to the most ardent Shuttle booster.

Since then, programs like Atlas, Titan, Delta are vehicles primarily developed for DoD programs, to DoD specifications (mostly Air Force, but there are some Navy satellite programs). These programs were used to move pretty much all space lift operations (i.e. putting satellites in orbit) out of Shuttle, with the obvious exception of ISS.

With Shuttle retirement, NASA no longer has any operational space lift capability, manned or unmanned. They did have one demo launch several years ago, that ended up being cancelled. And, they're trying to get back into the game. But really, the Shuttle program was a huge mistake that NASA is still paying for. Instead of funding new technology, massive $$$ were spent keeping Shuttle flying.

The choice of, and responsibility for, the launch vehicle is almost always the payload owner. Even NASA launches plenty of things on rockets they buy from outside:
Mars Pathfinder - Delta II (I got to see this one)
Cassini - Titan IV
New Horizons - Atlas 5

39. I think they want to decimate NASA and shut it down. Then privatize the new Space Force idea.

Not operations like Elon Musk and his Space X or Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic. Those operations will be used to move NASA crews to the space station, launch satellites, and take rich folk on a $100K amusement ride above earth, just beyond the outer atmosphere.

This new Space Force will comprise privatized space based weapons systems and the likes of Lockheed/Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics want to set up a whole new military division like the Air Force but it will be called the Space Force. Billions upon billions of new taxpayer dollars will be appropriated separate from the military budget and an other avenue will be establish for privatized military/space contractors to siphon off more money from the US Treasury into director's, executive's and stockholders pockets from the wallets of the common taxpayers.

Many countries and the United Nations have hammered out agreements and treaties not to weaponize space. Apparently trDump and the privatized military warmongers intend to decree that any agreements not to weaponize space - null and void.

Implementing the boondoggle of Space Force seems to be on the fast track - from an idea on paper and going gang busters into reality and development.

Lots of money will flow from OUT OF THE POCKETS of those on the bottom and middle income levels - then INTO THE WALLETS of those on the top income levels - all gift wrapped with the pretty little bow - and the under the guise of being done in the best interests of protecting American national security.

Create a new fear - then throw gobs and gobs of money at it - so the fear goes away, and then you feel safe and better about it.

Just a new way to fleece and swindle the masses out of their hard earned taxed dollars.

45. OK...

44. I am not picking a fight honest

I am not picking a fight honest, I just want to point out something because I am a space need now going on 50 years. And I'm a big fan of the (semi) private space companies ULA, SpaceX, Blue Origin. There's a few others just starting up.

My point is that it's sadly true the US Government nor NASA have a rocket ready to fly people to space. SpaceX does with Falcon 9 (LEO only), Falcon Heavy (flown just once has the thrust to get to Moon or Mars). The rockets are ready now, its the crew quarters which need proving. Was supposed to be this year, but looks like will be flown early next year.

ULA had Atlas 5 ready and reliable now. Same thing, crew quarters to be tested early next year. ULA has a much larger rocket the Vulcan coming out 2020 as well capable of Moon or Mars.

None of these things are why I started this post. I started this post to say that the US Army doesn't build tanks, guns, or bullets. Navy doesn't build ships. Air Force doesn't build planes.

They buy them from private companies, private companies like SpaceX or ULA.

NASA is building the SLS heavy lift rocket, but I think it's 50-50 if it will ever fly humans. Costs ten times it would cost to use private companies stuff.

The near future manned spaceflight will be on private launch vehicles. Just like we did when we went to the moon in the 60s. Saturn 5 was built by Boeing, Douglas Aircraft Corp,, and North American Aviation.

46. I don't know what the delay is, tbh.

Dragon had to be man rated since it connects to the ISS. The Manned Dragon is going to have much of the same stuff in it, except it'll have seats and whatnot. The unique pusher system seems to be a the main setback because they initially were going to have the nozzles go through the heat shield but changed it so that they're on the sides.

My most viewed video on YouTube was posted 8 years ago though:

SpaceX went ahead with developing the manned aspect of the system long before they had approval. It's still taken almost a decade.

But yeah once they launch they'll be significantly cheaper per-seat than the Russians ever thought about being and if humans ever fly on a refurbished Falcon 9 then we're talking 401k level prices (ie someone with a big retirement fund could absolutely fly in to space).

41. Right. Squirrel!!!

42. My guess is they will bring in private companies.

Elon Musk eats up a lot of print about space, but my money is on Jeff Bezos' company to deliver real innovation that will make near earth space travel and a journey to Mars possible.

At any rate, I see the military hitching a ride on the efforts of a private company. And I see hundreds billions, if not trillions wasted as graft and corruption become common as companies flood in to grab a piece of the pie. It's Trump's space border wall.

Not that we don't need intercept capability in space. If a rogue asteroid that is large enough come at us now, we are done. Scientists don't understand enough about our solar system or Galaxy to say with certainty what may be coming our way. Two scientists from Stanford have done simulations that say that there is another large body beyond Neptune, but despite elaborate telescope installations and the Hubble, no one has found that body and no one knows exactly what it is (large planet, brown dwarf, or some previously unknown celestial body). It is in the realm of the possible for a celestial shift to happen in the Galaxy and all type of stuff that is in the Solar System's outer perimeter gets send into the solar system to eventually crash into stuff.

I think that Trump's Space force is a stupid idea simply because we don't have anything remotely close to the Technology to make early applications effective and cost efficient. China supposedly destroyed a dummy satellite in space, but who knows wether their claim is real or what enhancements they used to have a missile locate the satellite.

49. Bezos is not gonna beat Musk

First, Musk got where he is by approaching problems from a viewpoint of basic physics -- he understands what he's doing better than Bezos does. Second, both Bezos and Musk are betting on overly huge rockets but it's looking more and more like the big economic winner is going to belong to whoever can more cheaply serve small-lift customers, and Musk wins there because the Falcon is smaller and cheaper than the Glenn, and if the BFR is built it's far more reusable than the Glenn, which has not even the beginnings of any effort toward reusing upper stages. And anyone who makes a BFR could easily also make a SmallFR if that's what's profitable.

You know who might beat them both, profit-wise? Boeing. They're making a suborbital spaceplane called the Phantom Express which will be used as a first stage for rapid military launches. They aim to show that they can launch it ten times in ten days. When that gets commercialized, half of the little new-space startups will be sunk, and both Bezos and Musk might lose a lot of business quickly.

There are also ventures in Spain of all places to build small reusable rockets. With small sizes it becomes feasible to do reuse with simple parachutes. I don't know why there aren't a dozen companies working in that direction... the ones that don't are going to get their asses handed to them.

53. Not sure about your analysis of Musk v Bezos.

Bezos is like the card shark that rides into town, it is not the cards that you see in his hands that you have to worry about. Musk is an open book, IMO, you see all that he has at all times.

I like the Boeing idea, a plane that can generate enough speed to escape earth's gravity then propel itself through space on a small fuel load could works well, if it also had life support capability in a vacuum. Maybe a large plane that allow occupants to un strap and move around and do things like eat and go to the restroom. BTW, I am not a Trekkie, but did Star Trek ever have any group meal scenes on the Enterprise, ala Alien?

54. Bezos does have an opportunity to undercut Musk on the small side

What Bezos should do is stick a second stage onto the New Shepard, one big enough to lift like half a ton to orbit. And he's admitted that this idea has been considered, but he's apparently got no time or attention to spare for actually doing it. So even though it's not a big job, it would probably still take years to get together. He might have a secret side project we don't know about, but he was pretty open about saying "Yeah, maybe that's worth thinking about someday in the indefinite future". Anyway, his whole engineering approach is "slow is fast", meaning that you take gradual careful steps to always stay on solid ground, while Musk's style is agility. Normally, being overly agile in a high-risk business is a recipe for doing a face-plant right when you're about to have your big moment, but Musk has made it work. For Bezos to suddenly go after small launches with a modified Shepard would be way too agile, and out of character.

Also, fuck Jeff Bezos with a pair of roller skates. The best outcome of a shiny success for Blue Origin would be if people start paying a lot more attention to Amazon working conditions and either boycott his ass or force him to improve his pay and working conditions. This would of course undermine BO's source of capital.

55. My bet is on Bezos having something up his sleeve that he does not discuss.

Amazon's pay at it's distribution centers can and must get better. But have you even taken the time to read about something called Amazon Market? Amazon Market provides a marketing interface for lots of small companies, many that are innovative and progressive on pay and benefits for workers. So Amazon is a mixed bag.

There is always more to a story that a person sees if a person does not look deeper.

52. Ten year old sits at kitchen table with his angry parents.

“We are really disappointed. Your older brothers had such a good reputation at school, did so many positive things, but you are deceitful and disrespectful of the teachers, bully your classmates, trash the family name, and one by one are destroying all the achievements of your older siblings. You hang around with the worst and cruelest thugs in the school and they call you their leader, and you brag about vandalizing other schools in the city. We haven’t heard a truthful word out of your mouth for the past three years, and we know you are stealing money out of our safe. We know that you and your gang are being investigated for some terrible things and if they are true, you will go to jail. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m going to build a spaceship in the backyard with Leggos. It will be the best spaceship you ever seen... sawed? I’m going to Mars!”